The Train
by OliviaLively
Summary: One night, Amu decides to journey to Tokyo by train. Before she knows it, she's seated beside a blue-haired violin player, who happens to be the most annoying pervert she's met. What happens between the two? Why is Amu leaving her home? REPUBLISHED. Same author. Forgive me, readers.
1. Chapter One

**LivLiv: I HAVE RESURFACED**

**It's me, Olivia Lively, and I present to you Chapter One of an old story I hadn't finished. Firstly, I need to tell my readers, old and new, of how sorry I am that I deleted and didn't finish some of my stories. It's annoying when you start enjoying a story that will never be completed. But before I begin, I think I should tell you a bit about my life. It's horrible, so if you aren't in the mood for a sad story, skip the rest of this author's note.**

**August 13, 2013, the day it all turned to ash, it all turned sour. I was 18, had recently graduated high school, and the next month, I'd be heading off to journey through my first year at University. Queen's University, to be specific. If there are any Canadians out there, they'll understand that Queen's is one of the best universities in the country. Kind of like Canada's Harvard. I'm guessing I had finished my shift at McDonald's, and was leaving the place to greet my sister, my soul mate and best friend in the parking lot. She waited for me in our red, beaten up Hyundai Sonata. Beaten up, because the winter before, sometime around last year, I spun violently in my car as I drove my friends to a local Christmas show and crashed into a sign, having my car stuck in the ditch.**

**Now, as my sister drove me home, she had a seizure. I wasn't able to prevent our car from crashing into oncoming traffic. She broke her foot, her ankle, her knee, her hip, her arm and BOTH of her legs. I broke my elbow, my nose, fractured my humorous and clavicle, and suffered a severe brain injury.**

**We spent a month in the hospital, and then my sister went to live in a retirement home, and I was stuck in rehab. For the past 4 months, fan fiction has been my comfort. I've read stories over again, I've started new ones, and I figured that I should start writing. Now I'm ready. I couldn't imagine if my favourite author's had deleted their stories. I wouldn't be able to… well, do anything, really.**

**I know it's sad that my future was ripped from right under me, but I need some entertainment. A way for me to be creative. So here it is, a new copy, that will be finished, of The Train.**

**I'm sorry it took me so long. Enjoy reading!**

Sunday, 11:35 pm.

"_Attention all passengers, train 162 to Tokyo will depart in five minutes. Train 162 to Tokyo will depart in five minutes." _

"Excuse me! Sorry!" A young woman said, running through the Sapporo train station filled with people. She carried a big black purse, the only luggage she was taking with her. Her black stilettos clicked on the echoing floor, her long pink hair swished behind her and her short, blue summer dress bounced in each step. But this girl, possibly just out of high school, was determined to make the train to Tokyo.

When two human beings, running hastily to a destination collide, the impact is so sharp and unexpected that both persons fall backward, dropping everything in their hands and realizing what just happened.

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry sir!" The pinkette said.

"No, it was my fault. Sorry miss." He said, grabbing his briefcase and blazer.

"I didn't see you, I was in a hurry!"she explained. "I'm really sorry." she got up, grabbed her purse and continued to run.

11:38pm

"_All passengers, this is the final call for those boarding the 11:40 train to Tokyo. It will be departing in two minutes. Again, this is the final call for train 162 to Tokyo."_

Click click click click CLICK CLICK CLICK

"Is this the train to Tokyo?" the girl said.

"Yes, may I have your ticket and ID?" the brown haired attendant asked.

"Oh, I'm not an unaccompanied minor." The girl informed.

"I still need your ID." The attendant said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I was on a train." She laughed and handed her the ticket and ID card.

"Alright, thank you. Enjoy your ride."

11:39pm

The high heeled girl walked down the small aisle of the train looking for a seat. But, there were none to be found.

_It's so full. I should have planned ahead of time._ The girl thought.

Walking into the second seating room, she noticed one open seat. It was next to a person who sat at the window seat, looking out. She walked forward to take the empty seat next to said person, only to notice the seat was taken by a small instrument box that she noted to be a violin.

"Is this seat taken –" the girl stopped talking, the person sitting in the window seat was a young man. He had blue hair and a peaceful look on his face. He was sleeping. Trying not to disturb him, she picked up his violin and put it in the overhead compartments. She closed the small cupboard but the door didn't stay closed, it flung open hitting her head. She slammed it again and again, but it was no use. Suddenly, a hand took the compartment door and gave it a strong slam. The girl turned around and saw the blue haired boy standing behind her with sleep in his eyes. Which were also blue, as his hair. Not the sleep, his eyes were blue.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to wake you! Oh I'm such an idiot. First I get into all of this trouble, then I bump into that guy at the airport and then I wake you up -"

"Just… be quiet." He said.

"Sor-."

"Un!" he stopped her, taking his seat and putting the blanket and pillow back in place. She in turn sat down next to him. She shifted around to find a comfy position.

"_If you're lost you can look and you will find me, time after time. If you fall I will catch you I'll be waiting. Time after time"_

The pink-head picked up her ringing cell phone and pressed talk.

"Hello?" she said in a cheerful voice. "This is Amu…Yeah?.. Sorry, I think you have the wrong number. Bye." She hung up her phone and put it on silent. "Stupid boys." She muttered. She turned to the blue haired man sitting next to her. "So you're going to Tokyo?" she asked.

"This is the train to Tokyo?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh no! Where were you headed? It's too late now, the train already left. Maybe we can tell the conductor and-!"

"Relax, I'm just teasing." He smirked.

"That wasn't very funny. I'm Amu by the way. Amu Hinamori." She smiled.

"Ikuto Tsukiyomi." He said blankly.

"Why are you going to Tokyo?" she asked.

"I'm performing there."

"With the violin?" Amu asked.

"You ask dumb questions." Ikuto smirked.

"Fine then. I'm just trying to be friendly instead of being such a grump all the time." She crossed her arms and faced the other way.

"It's a long way to Tokyo. Why don't we try to get along?" he said.

"Whatever."

"Why are you going to Tokyo?" he asked.

"Personal reasons."

"Hmm. Let me guess. You are going to Tokyo to find the man of your dreams?"

"No."

"You want to make it big? Get famous and rich?" he smirked.

"No."

"Or are you running away? According to the amount of luggage you have, the clothes you are wearing and how you were the last one on the train it is the most likely answer."

She went silent. He was good, but she wasn't going to tell him anything.

"I smell hesitating." He said teasingly.

"I'm not hesitating. It's none of your business and I'm not running away." She said.

"If you are, Tokyo might not be the best place to go. It's very crowded, and not everyone will be kind to you and give you the attention you need. Tokyo is a place for ambition." He said, but sleep had overcome her and her eyes fluttered shut. "Just a kid…" he wondered, looking at her sleeping face.

Monday, 3:21am.

Amu Hinamori's eyes opened slowly. Her back was sore from the uncomfortable train seating, and her legs were cramped up from having no room to stretch them out. There was a dark blue blanket gently placed on her lap, and her head was cushioned with something warm.

"Good morning." The man next to her said. She felt his voice rumble under her, and shot up quickly.

"S-sorry." She said, looking the other way.

"It's alright. You were pretty dead for a few hours. I was getting worried, but then I noticed you were drooling."

"Oh shut up." She looked out the window, watching the cities fly by with the sound of snores and the train speeding over the tracks surrounding her.

"You never did tell me why you're leaving home." He said, breaking the silence.

"I'm running away." She said bluntly. She didn't want to fight anymore, she was tired and she felt weird. It wasn't her stomach; she didn't have a headache or a fever, but her whole being felt weird. Insecure, frightened. She didn't know why. It couldn't be that she was leaving so suddenly. It couldn't be the problems she had created in the past coming up to get her. It was something on its own.

You see, this girl, this pink-haired young girl, had never been alone in her life. She has always had friends or family to depend on. She's always had money and everything she wanted was at her fingertips. Being on her own, on a train going to an unfamiliar place, was something new. Loneliness was something new. She couldn't decipher what this weird feeling inside her was, but the gospel truth is that she was lonely.

"Why?" he asked.

"It's personal." She said.

"So?"

"So what?" she asked.

"You look scared. Talking about your problems can help a lot." He said.

She kept silent for a while.

"I've made a mess, and I'm too ashamed to clean it up." She said finally.

"You should clean it up. It's better being embarrassed than lonely." He said.

"Who said I was lonely?" she asked, confused.

"It's written all over your face. It's hard to avoid. It's better to just clean up your mess."

"But some messes you can fix, and some you can't. Sometimes it's just better to leave. Sometimes it's just you that is the mess."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked, curious.

"Take it this way; say a tree growing by a river suddenly fell. The tree was blocking the water from running downstream, so it was causing a problem for all of the animals that lived down that way. The animals were angry at the tree, telling it that it was worthless and causing problems, but the tree couldn't do anything about it. It couldn't move, and the water rushing on one side was putting so much pressure on the tree that it started to hurt. One day, the tree finally broke free, and went down the river on its own. All of the animals were happy that they had water near their homes, but sad that the tree left. When the tree was free, it found its way to a pond and floated there for the rest of its life. The tree was happy because it wasn't bothering anyone and it found a home that it was comfortable with." She explained.

Ikuto was silent.

"That was really dumb." He said.

"Well excuse me. Maybe you shouldn't pry into other people's lives."

"I'm just teasing. But I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah, I mean, you were only making it worse for other people. It bothers me when people say 'never give up' because sometimes it's the only thing that can make you happy. Sometimes you have to give in." he said.

"Yeah." Amu said to herself, looking down.

"I'm tired." Ikuto said, yawning.

"Goodnight."

Monday, 7:49am

The sun peaked through each of the train's windows. You could hear quiet conversations all over the train and watch the attendant walk around and hand newspapers to everyone who was awake.

Amu Hinamori woke up for the second time today. She was resting on Ikuto's chest again, and the blanket was wrapped around the both of them.

"Well, well, well…" Ikuto said. Amu could feel him smirking.

"Don't even." She stopped him before he could say anything.

"Well I was just thinking that we looked a lot like a couple for a while. It was nice." He teased.

An attendant came by and handed a menu to the both of them. Amu analyzed it for a second until she felt as if a large frog was caught in her throat.

_Sweetheart's Breakfast_

_The 'I Love You' Special. Two heart shaped pancake with strawberries. 4.99_

_Ten Year Anniversary Special. Eggs, Bacon, home fries and toast. 4.99_

_Newly Weds Waffles. Waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries. 5.99_

"E-excuse me but we're not-!" Amu stuttered, turning red.

"Two 'I Love You' specials please." Ikuto said, smiling at Amu and the attendant.

Amu suddenly went pale and lost her ability to speak.

"Coming right up!" The attendant smiled cheerfully.

"You…" Amu hissed, turning to Ikuto. She expected him to smirk, but instead he was smiling.

"What's wrong Amu?"His smile was fake. He was acting as If nothing was wrong.

"Never mind." She muttered, crossing her arms. She picked up a newspaper from Sapporo that someone had left on the floor. She scanned the front cover.

"_Aruto Tsukiyomi's son comes to Sapporo."_

Below the heading was a picture of Ikuto, playing the violin under a spotlight.

"_Violinist, Ikuto Tsukiyomi, son of Aruto Tsukiyomi performed in Sapporo last Thursday, his last stop on his summer tour. The young violinist was taught by his father since age 3, and has performed many times before. Now, aged twenty four, he has made his third tour across Japan alone. He has performed with the Sapporo Symphony many times, but has decided to compose his own music."_

"Wow." Amu said.

"What?" Ikuto asked.

"You're famous."

"What?" Ikuto asked again, leaning over to take a look at the paper. "Oh. That." He said looking away.

"What's wrong with that? It's pretty impressive. Even if you are a perverted know it all." Amu teased.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically.

"Here are your pancakes!" the attendant sang as she placed the pancakes on the small train table in front of the two.

"Thank you so much." Ikuto said smiling. "Strawberries are our thing. That's what I call my little Amu. Strawberry, because of her hair." He said with lovey-dovey sound in his voice. He leaned over and kissed Amu on the cheek. She stayed silent. "Oh she's just embarrassed." He smiled again.

"If you don't get out of my face I shove a stick so far up your ass that you will choke on it." Amu whispered so only Ikuto could hear. He started laughing hysterically.

"Amu! You can't say those things here, you naughty minx." He turned to the attendant. "She likes talking dirty." The attendant left awkwardly.

A beat red Amu turned to Ikuto with a glint of evil in her eye. He smirked.

"You're a bastard." She muttered.

"Yes. Now would you like to feed me?"

"No."

"You're so cold." He picked up his fork and stabbed one of the strawberries. He raised it up and drove it into Amu's mouth.

"Wha a hee ahh ooo ooing?!" she said as he shoved the strawberry into her mouth.

"Watching you turn red." He said simply. Amu raised her fist quickly.

POW!

They ate in silence.

Still Monday, 9:10.

"_Attention all passengers of Train 162, we are happy to say that we will arrive in Tokyo on time. We will arrive in the station in about ten minutes, and you can leave ten minutes after. Thank you for riding *** Transportation. Have a wonderful day._

By now, Ikuto had apologized to Amu. For the past two hours, they have been talking about random things. Ikuto had mainly listened to Amu talk, but he didn't mind. He liked watching her go on and on about all of her weird teachers in her high school, the dances, her prom, her favorite movies, music and what she likes to do.

"But that was when Tadase was really nice and fun. Now he's all controlling and rude. He was a good prom date though. When he got voted Prom King he started calling everyone peasants! It was hysterical! But now I - Oh. I'm sorry. I've been talking all this time!" she freaked out.

"No it's fine. I like watching you talk." He said.

"Ha. What about you? Did you go to prom?" she asked, trying to cool down her red face.

"No, I was performing." He said.

"Are you serious?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes."

"You didn't go to your prom?"

"I was performing." He said, unsure of where she was taking this.

"I know, but I'm still freaked out. That's so sad." She said.

"Not really. I like playing the violin. I was with my father, so it wasn't so bad."

"Was your girlfriend disappointed?" she asked.

"I've never had a girlfriend." He said.

"WHAT?!" she said loudly.

"Girls waste my time. They want all of this attention that I can't give, or they like me for the wrong reasons."

"That's so sad. But not all girls are like that. I know a lot of nice girls." She said.

"I know." He said, looking at her. She looked at him confusedly, but shrugged it off.

"A-anyway, so what was high school like for you?"

"_Attention all passengers, we have now arrived at the Tokyo train station. Thank you for choosing *** Transportation. We hope you have had a safe trip."_

Everyone got up and started gathering their things from the overhead compartments. Ikuto had his violin out and handed Amu her purse. They walked out of the train and into the station, one behind the other.

"So where are you headed?" he asked.

"I don't know. Yet." She said sadly. She didn't want to leave Ikuto. "I'll miss you." She tried her best to smile.

"Come with me." He said.

"What?"

"I've got an apartment here."

"I can't just free-load off of a stranger." She said, unsure.

"I'm not a stranger. I'm your lover." He smirked.

"EXCUSE ME?!" She shouted.

"Shh! Not so loud. The receipt proves it all." He fumbled around in his jacket pocket looking for a small piece of paper. Amu took a close look at it, but Ikuto pulled it away and read it out loud. "'$ 9.00 for two Sweetheart Specials. For lovers only.'"

"It doesn't say that!" Amu said. She ripped the piece of paper out of his hands and read it.

"'_$ 9.00 for two Sweetheart Specials. For lovers only.'"_

Oh God. It DID say that. Just as she was going to say a smart comment back to Ikuto, he leaned in and gave her a kiss.

"Come on, Strawberry." He said, taking her hand.

She guessed she wouldn't mind living with him. He's lonely too. It's written all his over face.

THE END.

**So dearies, there it is, my old story. It gives me a funny feeling reading it over again. Ah to be young. **

**OliviaLively**

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	2. Chapter Two

**LIVLIV: So here I am again, wasting away in my humble abode. I'm not going to bore you with how boring my life is (no job, no school, no nothing) but be very careful when it comes to cars. Don't get in with someone who has seizures, because it very well may be that the will have one while driving. Don't get in with someone who is drunk, or if you think cannot operate a vehicle. The recovery of getting in an accident is horrible, and I want no one to have to go through that... EVER. Please, if you yourself has seizures, take medication.**

They left the train station around 11:00 am. The whole day they walked around town. He showed her his favourite restaurant, places that she could go to shop, and other places she'd enjoy. They visited the Tokyo tower and many other places.

Monday, 8:00pm

Amu walked beside Ikuto with a small smile on her face. She had a place to stay tonight and someone to talk to.

"Hey." Ikuto said.

"Yes?" Amu asked.

"Have you ever had a job before?" he asked.

"Yeah. I used to work at a few stores. And I had a summer internship at a designing agency. All I really did was sew a few pieces together in millions of dresses and sort things, but it was really fun. It helped me a lot with my own sewing." Amu said.

Ikuto smiled inside. He could listen to Amu talk for hours. He didn't feel the need to say anything to her because listening to her talk about these funny stories of her high school life was better than watching TV or listening to the radio. She had so much more interesting things to say. She was a strange girl.

"So you make clothes. Have you made any of your own?" he asked.

"Yes. This blue dress is mine." She looked down at the dress she was wearing and fiddled with it. He never looked too closely at it, all he saw was a blue dress on a girl with pink hair. He analyzed the dress and noticed it was in a Lolita kind of style, but less arrogant. It didn't poof out completely at the bottom and there weren't very many bows or ruffles. The dress fit her perfectly and accentuated all the right places. It stopped halfway down her thigh with short sleeves, small ruffles and bows at the ends of them. The dress had a short, wide V-neck, ending at the hard spot on her chest above her cleavage. It wasn't a revealing dress. Under the bust, the dress was tightened with a white ribbon and a bow sat in the middle. She looked like a doll, especially with the white leotards and Mary Jane stilettos.

"You look so beautiful. Marry me." He said.

"What?!" she shrieked, her face going red and her throat closing up.

"Kidding." He said with a smirk. "I wouldn't marry you. You talk too much."

"Oh." Is all she said.

"You thought we'd get married?" he smirked.

"N-no! Why would I marry you? You're a perverted jerk." She stuttered.

His smirk grew. "But it's ok. It's very entertaining."

"What is?"

"How you can just keep talking."

Amu blushed. She knew that she talked WAY too much, but everyone just usually laughed along. When she was in grade 5, she was very anti-social. She didn't fit in at first, but then she made some solid friendships and became very charismatic. Everyone hung onto her every word. She was the class president, she was on the cheerleading team, head of the art club, and even worked in cooking. But she loved to design clothes. She's designed clothes since she was very young.

"How ironic." Ikuto suddenly said.

"What is?"

"I tell you that you talk a lot, and then you go silent."

"Sorry, I was thinking." She said.

"Oh. I thought I smelled smoke." He laughed darkly.

"Oh be quiet. Jerk."

"That is no way to talk to the person who is letting you free load off them." He smirked.

"You're right. I'm sorry." Amu said, admitting defeat.

"I'm not satisfied. You must pay."

"Dare I ask how?"

"You'll see when we get back to my apartment." He said with a smug look.

"I won't agree to anything dirty." She said with authority.

"I guess I'll have to think of something else." His smirk grew, if possible.

To his surprise, Amu started laughing.

"You really are something." She laughed.

"Well, let's hope it's a good something."

**»-(¯`v´¯)-» Olivia Lively »-(¯`v´¯)-»**

By now, late in the evening, Amu and Ikuto were on the street walking towards his apartment in downtown Tokyo. "Here we are." He said, looking at a huge, art deco building. Only the richest people could live here. It was tall and had small balconies on each floor. There was an enormous water fountain in the front courtyard, beautiful gardens and many people walking around in suits holding briefcases.

"Wow." Amu said.

"It is something isn't it?" he said, looking up with a blank expression.

"It's amazing. You live here?" she asked.

"Of course." He smirked. "Follow me."

He led her through the courtyard into the big, expensive 'apartment' building. The lobby had marble floors with geometric shapes and art pieces of the same format. Amu had never been anywhere so glamorous. He walked into an elevator and pressed the button for the 112th floor. Amu stood silent, not knowing what to say.

"There's a pool, tennis court, a dining room and a cafeteria on the first floor. On the second floor there's a spa, a hot tub and an exercise room." He stated.

"Cripes." Amu said, eyes wide.

"Cripes?" he laughed with a strange look on his face that said 'What are you talking about?'

"I don't like swearing. It's un-lady like."

Ikuto scoffed a laugh. The elevator doors opened slowly and revealed a hallway a lot like the lobby. Same floor patterns, but it had different paintings.

Ikuto stopped in front of a door and slid in his key. Amu couldn't believe her eyes when she walked into the loft. It was gorgeous. It had a spiral stair case, and every piece of furniture was a popping colour. The wall across from Amu was all windows, the one to her right was brown-red brick, and the other walls were all white. Scattered all over the living room floor and coffee table were sheets of music, some crumpled, some just bent over or scratched out. To her right was the kitchen, filled with more geometric shapes and brick walls. The stainless steel appliances all looked like they hadn't been used. Everything was perfect.

"Your mouth is open." Ikuto stated.

Amu realized that her jaw had dropped and her eyes were wide. "Oh. I'm sorry I didn't notice."

Ikuto chucked and placed his violin case on the couch. "So I reckon you like it?" he said.

"Like it? That's an understatement."

"Wanna see our room?" he smiled teasingly.

"OUR room?" Amu asked nervously.

"Yes. I only have one room, unless you want to sleep on the couch." He smirked.

"Is this the payment?" she asked, not impressed.

"No. Your payment will be much worse." He said.

Amu sighed and followed him up the spiral staircase. The room was large, and mainly white. The walls were, again, brick. The bed sheets, carpet, lamps and extra furniture were all white. The bed was enormous. Amu silently thanked God that it wasn't a twin bed. It was already 10pm, and they were both getting tired. They fell asleep on his bed. Amu stayed as close to the edge as possible.

**»-(¯`v´¯)-» Olivia Lively »-(¯`v´¯)-»**

Amu woke up in the middle of the bed alone. There was a note lying on one of the bed side tables.

"_Amu,_

_I'm going out today. See you tonight._

_xo Ikuto"_

She stretched out of bed and walked to Ikuto's dressers. She hadn't had time to change so she decided to change into something she could walk around in. She opened Ikuto's drawers and picked out a dress shirt and some of his shorts. She thought this was a bit forward, wearing his clothes, but he'd never notice. All she wanted to was sit back and relax.

Amu explored Ikuto's loft. On the first floor, there was another room off of the living room. It was completely empty. In it, there was another window wall, assuming that the same north wall was all windows. She decided to leave it alone. There was no point on getting curious. Amu didn't want to test Ikuto's patience.

As the day went by, Amu completely cleaned the upstairs bathroom and bedroom, and she cleaned up the music sheets, not throwing out anything. She moved into the kitchen and explored the cupboards and fridge. He had lots of food, but he probably never ate it. There was a cute little breakfast nook at the north end of the room, by the windows. You could see nightfall out of said windows. His whole loft was very open and calming. Amu went back upstairs to put her old clothes back on. She figured Ikuto would be home soon.

She was right. Right when Amu finished changing, he walked in the door.

"Amu, can you start making dinner? I'm sure there's food in the cupboards." He said suddenly

"Oh. So now I'm your nanny?" she said half joking.

"No, you're my slave." He smirked. "Don't come out of the kitchen until it's finished."

Amu stomped off to the kitchen, very offended. "Who does he think he is?" she muttered. Amu suddenly had the craving for stir-fry, so she got the vegetables and oil.

**»-(¯`v´¯)-» Olivia Lively »-(¯`v´¯)-»**

"Ikuto! It's done." She said, coming out of the kitchen. He stood in front of the couch staring at the seats. Amu could only see the back of the couch. "What are you looking at?" she asked, approaching Ikuto.

Laid out neatly on the couch was a bunch of clothes. It ranged from pajamas to formal dresses. There were stacks of jeans, t-shirts, skirts, underwear and even a couple of Lolita dresses. On the table there was a stack of shoes that ranged from high heeled boots, stilettos, running shoes and flip flops.

"Who's this for?" she asked. It couldn't be her, he didn't know ANY of her sizes. He could probably figure out her dress size, but her shoe and bra size? That would be creepy.

"They're for you. Who else would I buy them for?" he said with a questioning look on his face.

"B-but how do you know my sizes?!" Amu said, blushing.

"I'm very observant." He said, looking at the clothes. Amu blushed even more. "I don't really like this one." He said, holding up a purple dress.

"Yeah. Purple's not really my color." She said, laughing. "I don't know what to say."

"Thank you is a good start." He said.

"Thank you. Really." She said, looking up at him. He caught her eyes and held a gaze with her for a long time.

"Now it's pay back." He said.

"What?" she asked. She didn't think he'd do something like this. It didn't look like he was joking. He walked closer to her, and her breath caught in her throat. "YOU CAN'T BUY ME!" she shouted and started to run for it. He grabbed her arm, but she fought back. Ikuto was laughing. "What's so funny?!" she said angrily.

"Buy you?!" he laughed again. "I bought those clothes so that you wouldn't stay in the same clothes and smell bad. I bought them so you could attend dinners with me. You know, I am a very well-known man. If I bring you along to these places I can't have you look like I got you off the corner of Sunset Boulevard. Your payment is dinner. I'm hungry." He continued to laugh.

His laugh was nice. It was a little sarcastic, but full of true humor. Amu had never heard him laugh like that. She walked into the kitchen and saw him sitting down at the table that she had set, waiting for her to serve him.

"Where's my dinner?" he said in a strange 50's husband voice. Amu recognized that line immediately.

"Ah. So you've seen Pleasantville." She said, picking up the pan on the stove.

"It's a good one." He said.

"I like that movie too, but my top five would have to be Pretty Woman, Breakfast at Tiffany's.. oh but I do like Roman Holiday, Edward Scissorhands, Thelma and Louise and…Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter. I never got to see any of those." Ikuto said.

"Seriously?" Amu asked, a little dumb founded. EVERYONE knows Harry Potter.

"I was too busy with the violin and my parent's company. I didn't have time to read books and go to the movie theater. Renting movies was an occasion, and whenever I did rent a movie, I rented the ones I knew I liked."

"And Pleasantville was number one?" Amu asked with a giggle.

"Yes. 'Perfect' can be perceived as coming home to a family that dresses well, keeps a clean house, makes healthy dinners, and is well accomplished. The children would all have clean rooms and get good grades, the moms would work at home, cleaning, cooking, etc, and the husband would come home at 5:00pm every night waiting for dinner. That is what the ideal family life is. And when we mix 'Perfect' with reality, that perfect world disappears, but for the better. It becomes real." He stared blankly out of kitchen window. Amu didn't know if he was talking to her. She held the frying pan filled with stir-fry and poured some on the plate in front of him.

"Say something." Ikuto commanded.

"What?" Amu wondered.

"Anything. Ask me a question."

"Are you going to eat your stir-fry?" Amu asked quickly.

He looked down. "Yes."

They ate in silence. Amu watched Ikuto closely. He was acting completely out of character. But it seems normal too. He's been living an under-standard life forever. He's never had a close relationship with anyone outside of his family. She could understand why he blurted out all of that.

"Wanna get some fresh air?" Ikuto asked.

"Sure." Amu smiled.

They walked down the stairs this time and stepped into the nightlife of Tokyo.

"So your favourite movies are Thelma and Louise, Edward Scissorhands, Harry Potter, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Pretty Woman?" he said suddenly.

"Wow, you remembered them all." She said.

"I've only seen Pretty Woman. My mom and sister watched it one night and I had nothing else to do." He smirked, remembering.

"It's not my number one, but it's top five. My number one is Thelma and Louise. That movie defines girl power."

"You've got quite a range of movies. There is Science Fiction, Romance, Classic Audrey Hepburn, and Tim Burton."

"Oh so Audrey Hepburn and Tim Burton have their own categories?" Amu asked.

"My father has a copy of My Fair Lady and Big Fish on the shelf. Audrey Hepburn and Tim Burton are so different that they deserve their own categories."

"Can you name every movie you've seen?" Amu asked.

"Not really. But I know what my favorites are. Pleasantville for one, Big Fish would be number two, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, My Fair Lady, and Weird Science."

Amu laughed loudly. "Anthony Michael Hall? I would have never thought you'd have seen that. Please don't tell me you've seen the Breakfast Club. I'd die with laughter."

"No. I can't stand Molly Ringwald. I did see Sixteen Candles though." He said blankly.

"Sixteen Candles? How can you say that you've seen Sixteen Candles with a straight face? You're killing me!" She laughed again.

Ikuto liked her laugh. It was like a new instrument that he could play.

Amu cooled down. "And Monty Python is good. I like 'And Now For Something Completely Different'. But The Holy Grail is classic. I even carved my own pair of coconuts and clapped them together to sound like a horse."

"Wow. You would."

"Hey don't tease. It was very popular in elementary school when all of the girls pretended to be horses."

"I'm sure."

Amu crossed her arms. "Hmph. So where are we going?"

"We're getting ice cream and then going to the video store." He said.

**»-(¯`v´¯)-» Olivia Lively »-(¯`v´¯)-»**

"What kind do you like?" Ikuto asked getting in line. It wasn't too busy.

"I like chocolate ice cream." Amu said with a childish smile.

"Me too. It's the only kind I like." Ikuto said pulling out his wallet.

"Can I take your order?" A girl behind the counter said.

"Two chocolate cones please." Ikuto said looking at the girl. She became very flustered.

"What size do you want?" she said flirtatiously.

"One medium and…" Ikuto stopped and turned to Amu.

"What? Do you think because I'm a girl I eat small portions? Goodness. Make those two larges." Amu said to the girl behind the counter. She looked a little disappointed seeing the two together.

Ikuto chuckled. "I'm glad. My sister eats small portions."

"Yeah well, I was brought up in the Hinamori household. And we don't let anyone get hungry." Amu said with a smile.

"That's nice." He said. He couldn't understand why she would leave such a place.

**So there's chapter two! I'm so happy I have so much time to work on it. It will be completed. I promise. Unfortunately, I lost the rest of my chapters I had written out... but not to worry! I still kind of remember the direction I took with it. It will be different, starting next chapter, but it'll be the same-ish...**

**Should I continue or are you bored? Am I Out Of Character?**

**Let me know in your:**

**»-(¯`v´¯)-»!&&&!REVIEW!&&&&!»-(¯`v´¯)-»**

**»-(¯`v´¯)-»**

**\ ! /**

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	3. Chapter Three

**LIVLIV: Chapter Three! EEE! So I've read both chapters I finished years ago, and I must say, I had a knack for amuto fanfiction. I'm not even embarrassed. Let's see how I do with a brain injury. This is all written today and today only, I didn't get it from some old files like the other chapters. Please message me or send me a review, let me know how you're doing and if there's anything wrong, I'm all ears. Even if you're a creep or a freak or whatever. I love creeps and freaks and everyone basically. I'm all ears.**

**What an image that is. Being all ears.**

Tuesday, 7:36 pm

The video store was immense. DVD's, Blu-rays and the like took up every last bit of space there was left in the store. You could only walk in the aisles, as there was no other place. Everywhere you turned there was a movie. Amu and Ikuto felt a little strange, as Amu's home in Sapporo never had a video store such as this, and Ikuto never entered one.

"Wow." Amu said, gazing around her.

"Wasn't expecting this." Ikuto muttered to Amu.

"You mean you've never been here?" Amu asked, excitedly.

"No, I've been too busy..." Ikuto said, taking in his surroundings.

"Well, let's get started! Do you want to watch one tonight?" She asked, hopeful.

"Yeah, of course. But not one that is too long, I have to work tomorrow." He said.

"Work? You mean with the violin?" Amu pondered.

"No, that's just on the side. I work for my father's recording company throughout the week, and play violin on the side. Soon enough, I'll just be playing the violin." He explained. Amu nodded and started to browse the movies.

"Amu, I don't have a Blu-ray player, so you know." Ikuto said.

"You don't? Me neither. High definition doesn't really do it for me." She smiled.

Ikuto chuckled to himself, wondering what exactly "did it" for her. As he pondered this, he noticed her jumping up and down in excitement. "What?" he asked, interested, but more concerned about drawing attention.

"Oh my god, oh my god." She said and she playfully stomped her feet.

"What?" He laughed at her excited expression.

"This is the ultimate film. I'm so excited. We need it." She said as she clutched on to a DVD.

"What is it?" He asked, curious.

"Ahh how little you know." She said, patting his back. "I would tell you to guess but I'm positive you haven't seen it."

Ikuto tried to catch a glance at the cover, but to no avail. "Just tell me!" he whined.

"Okay," she said, gazing at the cover, and then holding it to her chest. "It's Scarface."

Ikuto's ears perked up slightly at that. "Scarface... That sounds like a horror movie. You're full of surprises, Amu."

Amu laughed, smiling at the man. "Scarface isn't a horror movie! It's a mobster movie! The best!"

"Alright then, tell me. What is 'Scarface' about?" Ikuto smirked.

"Well it's about a guy who emigrates from Cuba to the US and he starts killing people and then he becomes a drug lord... and -" Amu paused, looking at the DVD. "I'm not telling you the rest."

"Huh." Ikuto muttered.

"So what's the verdict... yay or nay?" Amu said, looking hopeful.

"Well I've never seen it. It's a yes." Ikuto smiled as Amu began dancing in her spot.

By the time they left the video store, around 9:00, they had quite a large collection of movies. Scarface, Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, Gone With the Wind, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Pretty Woman, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot, Pleasantville, Kiki's Delivery Service, Thelma and Louise, every Harry Potter movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, It's a Wonderful Life, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Godfather, The Breakfast Club, A Beautiful Mind, Roman Holiday and Casablanca. Along with those, Amu had decided to visit the children's section and bought almost all of the Disney movies. The flipped every cover of every video displayed in the store.

Together, they were atrociously giddy leaving the small shop. Amu had a skip to her step as she held several bags of movies in her hands. Ikuto was also weighed down by all of the movies they had purchased.

"So Ikuto... Did you want to watch one tonight, or do you want to hit the hay?" Amu questioned, her smile reaching her eyes.

"We should watch Pleasantville. It's less freaky than Scarface or that other creepy movie you picked... 12 Monkeys?" Ikuto pondered, thinking of their purchases.

"You are not surprising. You don't like change, do you? You just play your violin and work, but for what? Where's the excitement? You know, there's a mantra, or a theme of sorts in Scarface. It goes like this, "The world is yours." Isn't that wonderful? It fires me right up." Amu went on.

"Maybe I'm a bore, but I let you move in, didn't I? There's the excitement. Unless you cause problems. Then, I'll have to punish you…" Ikuto said with a strange look in his eye.

"You're not thinking of something dirty, are you?"

"It's a secret." He smirked.

"Who even are you? You've seen like, ten movies in your life, you're a filthy rich musician, and you're a pervert! Well at least, you kind of seem like one." Amu complained, crossing her arms full of bags.

"Oh, don't you worry," Ikuto paused, turning to Amu and smiling. His smile turned into a smirk, and he said, "I am a pervert."

Screaming and laughing could be heard as the two roommates frolicked down the Tokyo streets. They weren't aware of anyone or anything, just the two of them in their own little world. Ikuto tried to grab for the running Amu, and Amu made it her mission in life to stay as far away from that man as possible. Too bad they lived together… and shared a bed.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Amu said suddenly, putting her hands up in defense as Ikuto came to a stop behind her. "You're a pervert, I get it!"

"And don't ever forget it." Ikuto winked.

"And now I'm sleeping on the couch." Amu said, walking towards Ikuto's apartment building.

Ikuto's face fell as he watched her departing figure. She couldn't really mean it, could she? He felt as any man would feel when they broke up with a person they had once loved. You see, Ikuto could get attached very easily because he was so often alone. Romantic relationships were a mystery to his 24-year-old self, as were roommates or close friendships. Maybe he had forced him and Amu's closeness, but it was a close relation nonetheless. Everything they did, shared and smiled at helped grow a beautiful garden in Ikuto's mind. And Ikuto wanted that garden to last. Maybe not forever, but for now.

"Amu, wait!" Ikuto called. She turned, standing in front of the large, avant garde fountain, a questioning look on her face. "I'm…" He started, looking into her golden orbs. "I'm sorry. I won't do anything to you that you don't like. I'll sleep on the couch if that's what it comes to."

Amu thought for a while. His apology seemed sincere, but was it a trap? And how would he know what she liked and didn't like? Amu couldn't bear the thought of him sleeping on that hard couch.

"Ikuto… no." She said, looking him in those beautiful blue eyes.

"No?" Ikuto's face fell, his disappointment obvious.

"Neither of us are sleeping on the couch. And I forgive you for chasing me." Amu smiled, patting Ikuto on the shoulder.

"Good. Then…" Ikuto paused, thinking for a moment. "We'll have to watch Scarface."

Amu bounced with excitement, through the lobby, in the elevator and into Ikuto's apartment at his proposal. Ikuto just watched and smiled inside. She was a joy to have around, and he was glad she met him on the train.

"Get ready for the coolest movie about mobsters and cocaine that you've ever seen." Amu said as Ikuto sat on the couch in front of the television. Amu popped the DVD in and sat down beside him. They laughed, they cringed and they smiled at the story of Tony Montana. Even if it may have had some gross parts, such as when Tony had to watch his friend's head be sawed off, it was still a great movie.

And at the end, with Tony Montana laying in a pool, bleeding to death, Amu found that Ikuto had fallen asleep. She powered off the television, put in a Disney movie, and cuddled next to Ikuto on the couch, ready for sleep to take over her.

"Goodnight, pervert. This is as close as you're getting." Amu whispered, getting cozy on the couch that neither of them were to be sleeping on.

**LivLiv: So who is adding Scarface to their watch list? It's really a great movie. A little intense, but awesome. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please tell me if you liked it, it inclines me to write more.**

**Take care of yourselves. Don't drink and drive or drive if you don't take medication for your seizures. If you have seizures, that is.**


	4. Chapter Four

**LivLiv: Hey everyone! My life is UBER sad. My sister left for Thunder Bay, and I've become so lonely. It's unbearable. On the 15****th****, she had another seizure. Life is lingering at the bottom of the spiral. Soon, and hopefully, it will rise.**

**Also… you guys probably don't know this, but before the accident, I was an accomplished painter. After the accident, I couldn't pick up a brush to save my life. I couldn't write, paint, or think like I used to. Well, I started writing again, and after three months of not painting, I tried it, and I'm happy with the results.**

**Here is the fourth chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know?**

Amu woke to the sun shining in her face. She checked the large clock above the door to the kitchen. It read 8:07, which made Amu very happy. She looked to her left, and surely enough, she spotted a sleeping Ikuto.

Amu didn't really know what to do at this point. Should she wake him, or fall back asleep? She decided, because he had work to go to, she'd better wake him.

"Ikuto?" Amu said, shaking the man's shoulder. "It's time to wake up… I think."

Ikuto's eyes slowly opened, wincing at the daylight in front of him. "Amu…" he said, smiling.

"Yes?" Amu asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Nothing…" He answered, shaking his head. "It's just nice, waking up with someone there to greet you."

Amu's heart broke. This poor man, working hard, well, at least she thought he worked hard, and coming home to no one. "As long as you want me, I'll be here." Amu smiled, standing up and stretching her arms. "When does work start?" Amu asked.

"I called in sick." Ikuto replied, smirking.

"What? Why? Are you okay? How do you feel?" the girl blurted, blushing slightly at her reaction.

"I feel fine." Ikuto answered, his smirk widening. "I just wanted to spend more time with you."

Amu's heart thumped in her chest. She pondered his last statement. With her? Why would he want to be with her? The idea sounded crazy to her, until realization kicked in.

"Ikuto… you have… friends, right?" Amu asked, curious.

"I guess, but I work a lot and have very little time for them."

Amu thought for a moment. Ikuto had called in sick to work so he could spend time with her. What would they do? There was so much in this city Amu hadn't seen, but she didn't care. There was a warmth inside of her when she thought of Ikuto wanting to be with her. She couldn't explain it, so she left it at that. A feeling, that is all.

"Well 'Osh-Kosh-B'Gosh' Ikuto. Let's get today started. What do you want to do?" She asked, taking a seat on the long couch. Ikuto thought for a moment and smiled.

"Nothing perverted." She added, warning the coy man. He sighed and twiddled his fingers, thinking of her question.

"Okay. I know what we will do." He said, looking around him.

"Oooh! What?" Amu asked excitedly, putting her hands together.

"We're going to have some coffee. You drink coffee, right?" Ikuto asked, standing up.

"I think by now, you know how bodies are made up of like, 90% water? I think I'm made up of at least 30% coffee now."

"Good." He answered, laughing at her humor.

"And then what?" Amu asked, following him to the kitchen.

"I'm not much of a planner. Let's do things as they present themselves."

Amu nodded and got the water for Ikuto's coffee maker. Soon enough, they found themselves sitting at Ikuto's breakfast nook, waiting for the coffee to finish pouring. Once it had, Ikuto got up and asked, "How do you take it?"

Amu thought for a moment. Usually she put milk and sugar in her coffee, but she wanted to hear Ikuto laugh.

"Black," she answered, "like my men."

Ikuto's constant smirk twisted into something unreadable as he held back laughter. He was trying to answer her, but laughter bubbled out of his mouth every time he opened it.

"I'm kidding," Amu laughed. "Milk and sugar are fine."

They drank their coffee and thought about what they'd do next, much to Ikuto's chagrin. They wouldn't have a movie marathon, they wouldn't shop, read or continue drinking coffee.

"Well what do you usually do on the weekends?" Amu asked, sipping.

Ikuto looked pained. He turned his head to face the wall of windows, looking down to the ever-moving Tokyo with a frown. "I usually write music, or visit with my sister and her husband." He replied, his frown still intact.

"Write music? That sounds lovely. You must play for me some time. I'd love to hear it." Amu said, placing a hand on Ikuto's warm leg.

Ikuto turned to her and smiled. "Maybe one day."

"So you visit your sister, hm? What's she like?" Amu asked, turning to him.

"She's blonde," Ikuto started, thinking of his sister and how to describe her. "She loves to sing. She was famous for a while, but decided one day, that it was in her best interest to retire from the business. She likes to laugh and be happy, a great contrast from her serious, vengeful self when we were younger. I think it's Kukai that does this to her. He's great. Kukai's her husband."

"So Kukai's a swell guy? I used to know a Kukai when I was young. He was a monster. I'm sure that this Kukai is kind though. So, shall we go wonder Tokyo again? Your sister and her husband should be working right now, so maybe we can have dinner with them later tonight." Amu said, smiling.

"I'll text them, and maybe touring the town is a good idea. And when we come back, maybe I'll play you a piece or two on the violin." Ikuto shrugged.

"Ooh! I'm excited now." Amu said, clapping her hands together.

"I said maybe." Ikuto replied with a mock frown.

Amu laughed and made her way from the kitchen to the bedroom she and Ikuto shared. As she rummaged through the piles of new clothing, Amu decided to go simple. She shrugged on a tight, black pullover, and some light, high-waisted jeans. When she had finished, Ikuto's head popped into the door and he frowned.

"You're not dressing up today?" He asked, a sad look on his face.

"I felt like jeans and a sweater, but I can change if you had something else in mind."

He shook his head and took some strides to his drawers, pulling out a dress shirt and jeans. "I think it's a jeans kind of day. After all, I did call in sick to work."

Amu laughed and left the room so Ikuto could change. She made her way to the living room and cleaned up their mess from last night. The movies, blanket, and various dishes were put back into place before Ikuto ascended the stairs. He noticed Amu relaxing on the couch, reading a book.

"What are you reading?" He asked.

"Oh, just some revolutionary text. Whatever." Amu shrugged, smiling.

He peeked over her shoulder and looked at the top of the left page for the title, his eyes skimming over the text.

"What is an 'Ayn Rand'?" He asked, curious.

"A Russian-born author. Incredible."

"So what does he write about?" He asked, taking an unusual interest in Amu.

"_She_," Amu corrected, starting to explain, "writes mostly about the same thing; the beauty in life, the unfairness of the world, and she will pull out a little trick she has up her sleeve, mainly taken from first-hand experience. Communism, in many forms. She takes these attributes and applies them to all of her novels. All that I've read, at least." Amu finished, smiling and getting excited about her book.

Ikuto nodded and thought, looking at her peaceful face as she took in each line. "And what is The Fountainhead about?" He asked.

"A lot of things. Architecture, love, greed, envy, and creation…" she paused, trying to re-word what she had said. "It's kind of changed my life."

"Maybe I'll read it one day. I'll let you know if it's changed me." Ikuto smirked. "Now, we go to town, and then what?"

"We'll find out, let the wind guide us to whatever and whichever place." Amu said, her sense of adventure sparkling in her eyes.

Ikuto's smirk grew as they exited the apartment, and ventured to the streets of Tokyo. Suddenly, and idea struck him.

"Amu… have you ever been to an amusement park?" He asked.

"Yeah, but the silly one that comes to town every year with the same three rides. The scrambler, the zipper, and some other freaky thing I never tried. Even on a dare." She laughed at her last comment, smiling. "Why?"

"Well, there's one in town that we should check out. Do you want to?"

"Yeah! Do you? Have you ever been?"

"Well, not to this one, but I used to go to parks when I was a kid. And yeah, let's make it an amusement park day."

The two gathered their things and left the apartment, walking the busy streets of Tokyo. Amu smiled as they made their way to the park, excited for what was to come. Before they knew it, they were standing in front of the entrance to Tokyo's Disney land.

"D-d-d-disney land?" Amu stuttered.

"Not a fan?" Ikuto smirked.

Amu screeched as she lined up, her body vibrating as she waited in line. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god. I can't contain my happiness. You just made this girl's life, you know?" She told him, her cheeks tinted pink from her excitement.

They found themselves waiting in line to meet the famous characters, to ride adventurous metal machines, and watch Disney's shows in a theatre. Amu was tickled pink by it all, and the only thing that entertained Ikuto was Amu herself. As they made their way to the exit, Amu spotted her favourite ride. She had never ridden it, but she knew that if she ever got the chance, she would.

"I know we're leaving, but…" Amu started, looking at the teacups.

"Let's go." Ikuto smirked, guiding her to the teacups.

"Ikuto, you're the greatest person I've ever met. You're just so willing to drop a hundred dollars for the day. How can you say you do nothing on the weekends? If I were bored, I'd…" Amu paused, picking a pink and blue teacup.

"TAKE OVA THA WORLD!" A voice interrupted her.

Amu turned to see a small boy, about seven years old, with his fists launched in the air.

"Well, not that, but you want to take over the world? What's your name?" Amu smiled at the little boy.

"Kiseki, and yes that is my goal. I will be king." He then turned and marched to a red teacup and sat with his mother.

Amu widened her eyes at Ikuto, not understanding what had just happened. Once they found themselves sitting in the cup, waiting for the ride to start, Amu was laughing her ass off.

"I don't see why this is so funny." Ikuto muttered.

"You're just – you're too – and the cup!" Amu said between laughs.

Amu found it hilarious that Ikuto could barely fit in the cup. His legs were crunched beneath the handle bars, digging into him. Amu had a lot of space, as she was short and thin. Ikuto, on the other hand, was very tall and muscular.

The ride spun around, and Ikuto and Amu tried their hardest to spin their own teacup with the handles, but it was quite the effort, what with Ikuto's legs crunched under them.

"That was so fun!" Amu exclaimed as the both of them made their way to the exit.

"Yeah, we should come back here." Ikuto said, rubbing his sore legs.

"Amu?" A voice asked.

Amu turned her head around her, wondering who said her name. No one should know her here, as she had left everyone she knew behind her. Who could it have been?

Then, she spotted the girl. She was short, had long blonde hair, and a tough glint in her eye as she sized Amu up.

"Rima?"


	5. Chapter Five

**LivLiv: Hey readers! So my sister is home. (YAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!) I don't know if I'll update as quick as I have been anymore, now I'm writing while my sister is napping. Ahh well. Also... I may be moving in May, next year. My sister is an R.A. at her school, which means she's kind of the leader of her dorm floor. She'll be going up in May to be the R.A. for a summer house, and I'm going with her! I'll be living at University while not being in University. I'm excited. It's going to be major fun.**

**And here it is, Chapter Five. I've been thinking for a while about what direction I was taking my story in last time I wrote it, so I'm going to try and follow that same lead. Make things easier on this poor soul. Hope you enjoy! Let me know?**

_Wednesday, 4:30 pm_

"Rima?" Amu called, looking directly at the blonde.

She widened her arms, and Amu ran to her. Ikuto watched the scene, slightly confused. They wrapped themselves in a great hug, smiling and laughing.

"Rima! What are you doing all the way in Tokyo?" Amu asked, not letting go of her friend. "Oh, sorry, Ikuto, this is my friend Rima. Rima, this is Ikuto."

"Pleasure's mine." She said, nodding at him. He nodded back. "I'm working at a bar overnight. The people of Tokyo now get to enjoy my hilarious and clever comedy."

"You're making it for yourself! We always talked about how we'd run away and make our dreams come true, and this is how you're doing it! Rima, I just…" Amu sighed, smiling again. Amu laughed and shook off her statement.

"How's the sewing going?" Rima asked.

Amu coughed awkwardly and began to explain to her friend. Ikuto's ears perked up. "Well, my mother took all of my supplies, and my internship ended, so I haven't sewn in a long time. Right now I'm staying at this guy's apartment," Amu gestured to Ikuto, "and we're, well, we're up to no good." Amu elbowed him and chuckled.

"Yeah, going to Disney World and watching Scarface is treading dangerous waters alright." Ikuto added, smirking.

"You're that - that violin guy?" Rima asked, trying to place him.

"Yeah, I guess." Ikuto shrugged.

"Well Amu you've made a step up from your last endeavor in men." Rima chuckled and nudged Amu.

Amu laughed and tried to explain to her friend that she and Ikuto had only just met. Ikuto kept silent, wishing that they had known each other longer. How different his life would be if they had known each other for a long time.

"Yeah, but he looks nicer than you're ex-boyfriend, Tada" Rima began.

"Not going to delve into my failed romantic relationships just yet, Rima." Amu scolded, suddenly feeling queasy at the mention of her ex. Ikuto turned to Amu now, a questioning look in his eyes. Amu waved it off and caught up with the petite blonde.

After much discussion, Amu and Rima said their goodbyes and were about to leave. "Amu, you and Ikuto should stop by the bar! You can see me perform and do some Karaoke and have a grand old time." Rima giggled, which seemed to be an odd act where she was concerned.

"Sure! What's it called?" Amu asked, turning to leave.

"Some American name… Cheers, I think. I've heard it was a TV show back in the day. I think it was about a bar. I'm not really sure. It's great though. I'll see you then, Amu! It was nice meeting you too, Ikuto." Rima said, making her way to the Roller Coaster just ahead.

Amu and Ikuto left Disney Land and walked across the street. It was 4:30 already, so they should have been meeting Kukai and Utau in less than two hours.

"She seemed… nice." Ikuto added.

"Yeah, she was acting a little strange there. Usually she's crazy but she took it down a few notches. Probably for your sake. Be thankful." Amu commented back, thinking of her friend.

"Crazy?" Ikuto asked.

"Well, she used to be mean and shy, but then we became the best of friends. Her passion for comedy became a part of her, so she was always pulling tricks on people and going a little crazy. For humor, of course." Amu explained.

Ikuto nodded and watched his and Amu's feet follow the pavement of Tokyo. "So, when'd you meet her?"

"In high school, sometime around grade ten, I believe. We got grouped into this school protection league, which was lame, might I add, and from there, we've been friends ever since."

"Seems cool." He commented.

"I guess."

They continued walking, but then Ikuto came to an abrupt stop in front of a building. Amu shot him a wondering look, waiting for him to explain. He then opened his mouth, a curious expression on his face. "Come with me." He said, leading them into the building that Amu couldn't place.

"Where are we going?" Amu asked as they walked into the lobby.

"I have a friend that works here."

"What… what is this place?" Amu asked, looking around here, eyeing the fabrics and ribbons set on the tables.

"Ran-san!" Ikuto greeted rather friendly like, placing his hand in front of him, offering a hand shake.

"Ikuto-san, what can I do for you?" The woman asked, taking her eyes off of the complex sewing machine and landing on Ikuto first, and then Amu. She smiled and nodded before turning her attention to the blue haired man.

"It's wonderful to see you again," he said after shaking hands. "I'd like to introduce you to my," he paused, "friend. Amu Hinamori, this is my friend Ran. Ran, Amu." Ikuto gestured to the pinkette beside him, and Amu smiled.

"Amu, what a lovely colour of pink you have in your hair!" Ran commented, standing to touch the tresses. "What brand do you use? Whenever I die my hair it looks so red."

Amu laughed and said, "This is actually my natural hair colour. My grandmother has the same colour, too. Well, she had the same colour once. It's all white now."

They both laughed together until Ikuto said, "Ran, what are you working on now?"

"Some ball gown for a politician's wife." She muttered, looking at the fabric beneath the needle.

Amu examined the long silk that spilled onto the table, admiring how it folded so gracefully. "You're doing a wonderful job, I see." Amu said, blushing.

Ran became excited then. "Oh gosh, thank you! My sister Su said I was doing the whole thing wrong!"

"Ah yes, where is Su?" Ikuto asked, looking around him.

"She's in the design room." Ran said, as she stepped on the pedal and began working on her masterpiece.

"Thanks," Ikuto said, leading Amu to a door. "Now Amu, before we go in, I should ask you. Do you want a job?"

"W-W-What?" Amu asked, blushing madly and sweating.

"A job, as a designer. Or some of the field work."

"How?" Amu was curious.

"These women have sewn several of my concert ensembles. They're very gifted, and by the looks of it, they could use a girl like you. There's Ran, who they recruited last year, having too much work. Su, who pitched in when times were hard to help her sister Miki's dream come true, helps design some of the clothes. Miki is the designer, the head of this establishment. They're all sisters, and they're all incredibly kind. Now, do you want the job or not?"

"Um... I guess?"

"Good, then let's go see Su." Ikuto lead Amu into a small room, with a lit table and a blonde, furiously sketching before her. "Su." Ikuto announced, getting the blonde's attention.

"Hm?" She looked up from her charcoaled paper at the two. "Ikuto-kun!" the woman said, bounding up from her chair and grabbing ahold of the poor man. "It's been too long!"

Ikuto barely returned the hug and looked slightly uncomfortable as she separated from him. "And who might this beauty be?" She asked, looking at Amu.

"This is Amu Hinamori." Ikuto introduced before Amu could herself. "You should hire her."

"Hire her?" Su asked.

"Yeah, she sews really well."

"Ahh, of course. We could use and extra set of hands. How old are you?"

"I'm 20."

"So young! Well, show me what you have, design me a dress." Su said, guiding Amu to the design table. Instantly, Amu began scribbling on a new piece of paper, and her lines evolved into a great dress. It was a floor length dress, with off the shoulder sleeves. The skirt was styled in a mermaid fashion, shaping the hips and thighs and flowing out at the knees. It took a matter of minutes, and left Su pale.

"My goodness!" Su exclaimed. Ikuto stared at the drawing, mesmerized by Amu's talent. "I must show Miki!" Su said, ripping the paper from the pad and running out of the room.

"Well," Amu said after Su had left, "I guess that went well."

"Amu that was…" Ikuto started. Amu waited patiently for him to answer, but he couldn't put his words together properly.

"Was what?" Amu smirked.

"Nice." Ikuto said flatly. Just then, Su and another person entered the room.

"And there she is!" Su beamed, arms spread in Amu's direction. "Miki, this is Amu Hinamori. Amu, this is Miki, my sister and owner of the business."

"It's a pleasure to meet someone with so much talent." Miki said quietly and shyly, looking at the pinkette.

"The pleasure's all mine, surely." Amu answered, bowing slightly.

"So… when can you start?" Miki said finally.

Amu froze. She hadn't thought about this. Work? For money? She was supposed to be running away and starting a new life, but this was all happening too fast for the girl. She looked up to Ikuto just then, as though she were asking him what Miki had asked her. Ikuto understood and replied.

"When do you need her, Miki-chan?"

Miki squealed slightly, balling her fists together and squirming excitedly. "We're closing up shop soon, so tomorrow, if you'd like!"

"What time?" Amu asked, happy about her new position at the seamstress'.

"Ten will be fine." Su answered.

**»-(¯`v´¯)-» Olivia Lively »-(¯`v´¯)-»**

"I can't believe you just did that!" Amu slapped Ikuto's arm as they crossed the street.

"What? Got you a job? Don't you need one?" Ikuto smirked.

"No! Well, yes, I guess, but gosh! So sudden. You're crazy."

"Maybe."

"Crazy." Amu muttered.

"About you." Ikuto whispered in her ear.

"Ikuto!" Amu slapped him again.

"So cold." Ikuto commented, tutting as they walked down the sidewalks of Tokyo.

"I just thought I'd wait it out a bit before I jumped right into work. I came here on Monday for crying out loud." Amu sighed, looking around her.

"Well, I'm going to start charging you rent tomorrow, so now's the perfect time!" Ikuto smirked.

"Don't be an ass. I'll move out." Amu frowned.

"I'd like to see you try."

Amu's frown turned into a smirk as she grabbed a newspaper lying on the street and began looking in the real estate section. Ikuto waited as Amu did her bit, teasing him like that.

"Is $800 too cheap for an apartment?" Amu said, looking up. Ikuto caught the smirk under her questioning face.

"Not as cheap as zero dollars." Ikuto muttered and began walking.

"Okay, okay!" Amu conceded. "Fine. I'll stay with you. And thank you for helping me get a job, it means a lot." They continued walking and Amu was getting more confused as to where they were. She could no longer see the park, nor Miki's offices. They were nowhere near the apartment.

"Where the hell are you bringing me?" Amu asked as they crossed yet another intersection with many other walkers.

"Dinner." Ikuto replied, scratching his cheek.

"Oh we're still going with Utau and her husband?"

"Yeah, unless you want to go to Rima's bar."

Amu laughed at that. Rima was always a colourful person. It was no wonder she ended up doing comedy at a bar. "Maybe another night."

"We're meeting them at six, so we're just going back to the apartment to get dressed. It's a fancy place, so we have to dress nicely."


	6. Chapter Six

**LivLiv: Hi, it's me again. So… the depression is kicking in. Full blast, no less. I get the blues at 7:00pm almost every night, and then randomly some other days. I don't get sad every day, sometimes I'm fine. When you get sad though, don't do anything stupid. I've come so close to making it end, but I have too many responsibilities to attend to in life. It's scary. And then, in times like these, it is incredibly bizarre to find that at one point, I was miserable and incurable. It feels as though I were a different person for a small while. It's terrifying. I hate it.**

**So now I'm writing as my sister naps. I'm writing before I get the blues. Before I can't write. It's a struggle now, you know? A struggle to do anything. To paint, to read, to watch TV, to write, to move, to sleep… it's effort. Now, let me know how you're liking my story, or if you have any suggestions. You know how I lost all of my old chapters and am rewriting them? It's kind of hard.**

**Okay back to what I was saying before, if you're feeling the horrible blues, where you can't bring yourself to do a thing, please seek help. Tell someone. I'm getting meds soon and I am so happy about it. I never want to feel sad again. Trust me, when you get the blues, and you hate them, I think meds might be the only answer. Maybe. Tell me if I'm wrong, please.**

**Update:**

**I'm okay now! It's not that I'm getting therapy or taking meds, but I conquered the depression! I did it! Take that, world!**

_Wednesday, 6:00pm_

"Amu," Ikuto said as he sat on a chair, gazing at the pinkette.

"You can't laugh!" Amu said, covering her eyes with her small hands.

"I won't, promise." Ikuto said seriously.

"Fine." Amu gave in, unlocking the small, white closet. As she stepped out, with Ikuto's eyes glued to her small frame, the dress shook slightly.

"Amu," Ikuto started, looking at the girl.

"What!" Amu exclaimed, crossing her arms.

"It's perfect." Ikuto admired how the blue silk tug at her small waist, and how the crystal in the center gathered the dress so well, making her look like a small gift. Blue, of course, was his favourite colour. And seeing this girl standing in it, well, it made him like the colour more.

"I don't… I don't know." Amu said, turning to look in the mirror.

"Well, if you don't wear it tonight, we'll find another night for you to wear it." Ikuto sighed, glancing at his watch.

"Why don't we get something pink?" Amu asked, fixing her bust.

"Because I'd much rather see you in blue."

Amu scoffed and went back into the change room. "Fine."

Ikuto smiled and made his way to the cash. "We'll take one of those," He started, looking around the store. "and a longer one, too."

Soon enough, Ikuto was swiping his card as Amu frowned. They left the shop and he led the pinkette to a small bistro, just a couple blocks down from them.

"We're meeting them here?" Amu asked curiously.

"Well, as we agreed to meet for dinner, and this place serves dinner, I think it would be wise to believe so." Ikuto confirmed, telling the hostess to seat them for four, and following her to an empty dining room.

"Well, you're not very nice."

"Another wise thing to believe." Ikuto said as he sat down. "That dress is lovely on you."

"Gee, with a compliment like that, I'm almost willing to jump into bed with you!" Amu joked, taking the seat across from him.

"Say the word and we will." Ikuto toasted, raising his glass and taking a sip.

"Such a pervert." Amu muttered, unfolding the menu and taking a glance.

"See anything you like?" Ikuto asked, setting his glass down.

"Maybe."

"Oh, Amu. Don't be so cold. Usually a woman would be driven crazy with my charm, but with you… I think it's going to be a lot longer before I have you watching my every move."

"Well, you don't know very many intelligent women then." Amu said as she browsed the menu further.

"I know plenty of intelligent women, thank you very much. Strange women, no."

"I am not strange, thank you very much." Amu recoiled.

"I think you're wrong, strawberry."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Calling you what?" Another voice interrupted.

Amu and Ikuto turned to see a tall, beautiful blonde standing before them. She was wearing a long black dress, her hair done in two pig tails, and a perfect little clutch was held in her hands. They then noticed the tired brunette behind her, carrying a purse and many shopping bags.

"Amu here refuses to be called by her adorable little pet name." Ikuto said, crossing his arms.

"Hmph!" Amu exclaimed.

"She got a pet name before your own sister?" The blonde screeched, smacking Ikuto with her clutch.

Amu's expression froze to her face. She didn't know how to react. Seeing that boy there, breaking his back for this beautiful woman before her was astonishing. At first, she couldn't place him, as the years had lined his face. There was no doubting it, however. That man to the right of the blonde was Kukai Souma, the boy she knew as Kuka. He was a great friend, and seems to be just as happy as he was back then.

"Ku-Kukai?" Amu spoke.

"Oh I'm sorry! Hello, my name is Utau Souma, I am Ikuto's little sister. This is my husband, Kukai. Do you two… know each other?" Utau asked.

Kukai dropped everything he held and jumped towards Amu. Amu, surprised, let out a loud laugh and a smile spread across her face. "Hinamori!" Kukai shouted as he hugged the wide-eyed girl.

Ikuto and Utau stared, completely aghast. They both were thinking of how small the world was. Utau met Kukai when she had fallen out of stardom by chance, as he had just moved to Tokyo. Ikuto had met Amu by chance as well. Though it is true that Kukai grew up in Sapporo, and Amu is from there, it is mind boggling to consider that maybe they were friends.

"Kukai-ni! It's been so long, I barely recognized you!" Amu spoke excitedly.

"Well, I'd recognize that mop of pink hair anywhere! Not once have I seen a woman with real pink hair, other than you, that is. I must say you look different though. I haven't seen you since you were…" Kukai paused, thinking.

"Since I was thirteen." Amu answered.

"Right! So what have you been up to? Still drawing? Playing with your aunt's fabrics?" Kukai questioned.

"I… well, I don't live at home anymore."

"What?" Kukai asked, dumbfounded.

"I left for the city. But yes, I still draw. And no, my aunt passed away several years ago."

"Oh, Amu I'm sorry." Kukai gave Amu a friendly pat on the shoulder. "But… you left?

"Yeah, I mean, I am eighteen. It's time to fly the nest. I was hoping to go to school, but my mom and many other people had a different plan."

"Right, Amu?" Ikuto interrupted.

"Yes?" Amu turned to him.

"You told Su and the others you were twenty."

"Give me a break! No one hires an eighteen year old!"

"And what plan was that?" Kukai continued the interrupted conversation.

"Oh," Amu turned to Kukai again, pondering the question. "It's a long, boring story. Don't worry about it."

Kukai nodded and turned to his wife who began to speak. "Well! Amu Hinamori, I am Utau Souma. Kukai's wife, and Ikuto's little sister. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." Utau extended her hand as she took a seat, Kukai sitting right next to her.

"Finally? What do you mean finally?" Amu asked curiously.

"Well Ikuto texted me this Monday, saying how he has a roommate. I wanted to question him further, but Ikuto doesn't do well with interviews. Anyone that can crack Ikuto's tough shell must be quite the woman. Or man. Or whatever. Anyways, once I heard of this I got so excited and I kept harassing the poor guy to get the rest of the story out, but to no avail. So. How'd you meet?" She said quickly.

Amu glanced at Ikuto to see if he would answer for her, as he had done so many times before, but he smiled encouragingly for her to continue.

"We met on a train from Sapporo to the city, and he gave me a place to stay. That's about it. And there was no shell cracking that I can recall." Amu answered sweetly.

Utau pondered her reply for a while, thinking it over in her head as she ordered a red wine from the nearest waiter.

"So," Utau later said, "Ikuto, what's so special about her?"

That phrase slightly shook Amu, as she often found herself asking the same thing. What was she doing here? She should be at home, doing exactly as her mother wanted and moving on with her life. Not playing in Tokyo with some guy she barely knew. Not working as a seamstress or buying movies, or going to Disneyland.

"I couldn't tell you exactly. She just is." Ikuto said, bringing the rim of his glass to his lips.

"Okay. So what did Kukai mean by playing with fabrics and drawing?" Utau asked.

"Oh, well when I was younger, I loved to dress up and make things. I kind of grew up working with clothes and such, it kind of became a passion of mine." Amu thought out loud. "I actually got a job working as a seamstress in town! It's very exciting. And by drawing, Kukai meant that I would always draw clothes and costumes. I was kind of a designer. Kind of."

"Really? That's so cool! So there's nothing…" Utau trailed off, thinking about how she was going to phrase her next question. "…romantic between you too, is there?"

"WHAT?!" Amu exclaimed.

"Not that I know of." Ikuto replied calmly.

"Ikuto, when are you going to get a girlfriend? You're twenty-four! I'm married already!"

"I don't really think about love like you do."

"N-n-nothing at all! Except for this breakfast we had this one time, it was called a –"

"Amu, you talk too much." Ikuto interrupted.

"Right," Amu smiled meekly and faced the floor. Kukai patted her on the back from his seat.

"So when did you guys meet?" Utau asked dreamily with her hands folded, being used as a headrest.

"Utau, why does this matter?" Ikuto asked.

"It just does. Amu?" Utau turned her attention to the pinkette who cursed herself for speaking too much.

"Um, this Sunday."

"Woah woah woah, you mean to tell me that you two met four days ago and… God." Utau cussed. "Ikuto, you're a bachelor for life."

"Maybe." Ikuto said, smiling at Amu who had her hand over her mouth to keep silent.

"Okay, well I'm getting fettuccini with a house salad. Are you all ready to order?" Utau asked.

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Maybe." They all answered.

So the group ordered their food and began eating, talking about Amu and Ikuto's last four days, Amu's family, Utau's ended career, and Kukai's new one. It was a very perfect evening, and they were all sad to part ways, that is, other than Ikuto.

_Wednesday, 10:03pm_

"Amu! I forgot to give you my number!" Utau yelled from the other end of the street.

"Oh!" Amu exclaimed as she ran to meet her new friend.

They exchanged numbers and met up with their dates, walking home. Ikuto and Amu turned onto Ikuto's apartment's street, laughing as they shared another ice cream.

"So, do you like her?" Ikuto asked nervously.

"Utau? I love Utau! She's so easy to talk to and glamorous. I hope we're friends for a long time." Amu smiled as she licked the cone, handing it to Ikuto.

"Good, I'm glad to hear that." Ikuto smirked strangely and continued his way to his room. "Wait," he said, stopping. "Are we going to bed? Because… I can call in sick tomorrow again, you know."

"And I'm not working until ten! And I've partied all night before, so I can handle it." Amu smiled proudly. "So… where do you want to go?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Ikuto smirked. "Do you… want to go to a bar?" He asked.

Amu gasped and started stomping her feet excitedly. "I know, I know! Let's go to Rima's bar!" She exclaimed.

And so they went.

**LivLiv: Kay like wow. That took me forever. Sorry for not updating for a month, but I've been trying to take my health into my own hands. It's working. And yesterday, it marked four months since my accident. Time is moving, maybe not as fast as I want it to, but it keeps marching on. Cheers to all! And Merry Christmas!**


End file.
